Read about the body positive movement and why it’s for people of all genders and sizes.

If you’ve looked into the topic at all, you may have noticed that there’s a lot of negative talk surrounding body positivity. It seems as though a lot of people, purposefully or not, are looking to tear down a movement that’s trying to make people feel better about themselves. There are lots of reasons why this might be. In a world that’s constantly barraging us with messages about self-hate, it’s easy to get your vision skewed and start to believe the negative hype. It’s also just as easy to not do your homework. Lots of people see the top layer of what body positivity means to different people and don’t do any digging beyond that. And that leads to jumping to potentially incorrect conclusions. For this reason, we’re going to be covering some of the most common myths about body positivity and why they’re wrong.

Body positivity is just for fat girls

This is (pun intended) a big one. Some of the most vocal voices about body positivity are people who are plus-sized and female-identifying, and that leads to lots of people assuming that a requirement for being positive about your body or getting involved is that you have to be a fat woman or girl. This isn’t true. It is an accurate statement that there are a lot of fatshionistas out there, and it isn’t really that hard to figure out why: when fat, feminine people are constantly told their bodies are wrong, that they need to hide themselves, that they’re not allowed to be cute or spoken to with kindness about their bodies, it’s no wonder they’re some of the more commonly found and loud voices out there.

That said, there are plenty of plus-size male identifying bloggers out there who have great things to say about body positivity (see: Chubstr). There’s also lots of space for people who aren’t plus-size. Broken down to its simplest core, body positivity is about finding worth in all people, no matter what shape or size they are. So why wouldn’t skinny people be allowed in? This is about treating others with respect and kindness. It’s about not judging others. Everyone deserves a seat at that table.

Body positivity is an excuse to be lazy

First, I just have to get this off my chest: this one is the worst. The worst! Because there are a lot of plus-sized bloggers out there fighting the good body positive fight, some people assume body positivity means that we all just eat donuts stuffed with McDonalds on top of ice cream, lounging on puffy pink couches while watching Grey’s Anatomy all day. Though this sometimes is a lifestyle I wish I had the luxury to lead, that just isn’t the case. And I doubt it is for most people. The reality is that a lot of people seem to believe that self-improvement is tied to self-hatred, that only if you dislike things about yourself will you change them. That’s silly!

I personally feel loads better getting things done when I’m in a good mood. And there are plenty of fat activists and body positive people who go to the gym on the regular. They just have the bonus of going for fun or because they want to, not because they’re guilted or shamed by society. Again, body positivity is about being happy with yourself and the world around you and doing your best not to judge others. Everyone is lazy sometimes; it’s simply the human condition. And laziness serves a purpose sometimes! We all need downtime and our bodies need the rest. Body positivity is not something anyone jumps into just so that they have an excuse to do nothing; it’s something to strive for because it’s about self-love.

Body Positivity Is Only About Looks

There’s an obvious focus on looks when it comes to body positivity. In order to combat all those gross stereotypes about plus-size people, lots of fatshionisas have come out of the woodwork to show that being big doesn’t mean being ugly. And representation is important! If you've grown up not seeing any characters that look like you on TV or in movies, you get a subliminal message that there’s something wrong with you. And that’s not right. But that’s not the only thing body positivity stands for. Encouraging people to feel comfortable is a goal, but it isn’t the only goal. It’s about changing perception and giving people equal treatment. It might start for a lot of people with flashy dresses, but it certainly doesn’t end there. The crux of the argument isn’t that every person, fat or skinny, has to look like a god or goddess to have value. It’s that every person has the ability and the right to feel like the divine being that they already are.

Body Positivity Is Dangerous

Here’s the thing: Body positivity is, when reduced to its simplest terms, the radical idea that it’s okay to feel comfortable in your skin. Society propagates the real dangers when it suggests otherwise. Self-hatred leads to physically dangerous behaviors like yo-yo dieting and self-starvation. It can also lead to mentally and emotionally dangerous places, like distancing yourself from the fun and exciting things you should be exposing yourself to, or even disliking yourself so much that you stop seeing the value in your existence. Again, this point seems to come up from a misconstrued belief that weight loss is a goal of every person on the planet and that change only comes through self-flagellation. It’s wrong.

There’s one thing that people who oppose the body positivity movement like to claim: that body positivity means it's okay to be fat. To which we must reply… yeah. No duh. You are not your body. Everything that is you is riding around in a goopy pile of fatty meat hiding in a bone container behind your eyes. Body positivity is ultimately about trying to enjoy the thing you’re riding around in and not judging others for doing the same.